Carysse took her seat along with the other female servants on the sides of the hall. The nobles carefully patted their seats and fixed the seams of their dresses before settling down to their pillowed seats.
Looks like being a noble was a pain.
She saw some of them eyeing the food in front of them like they wanted to gobble it in one go but due to the suffocating atmosphere of the rules of royalty, they only get to taste a little of everything. The sweets at the table were certainly mouth-watering. It had been a long time since Carysse had seen such an abundance of food.
Living the life of a noble was certainly not for her.
Carysse wanted to level up her own living but not in terms of money as these ladies in front of her were bragging about their clothes. Although it would be good to be rich, it would be better if she wasn’t pressured in any way and be judged solely by her outfit everyday. She would like to live the old Thalisse life once more.
She had to fulfill this mission so that they could get their lives back. She could also finally continue her dreams, although she would have to set to the cities since there was not a single formal school at her village. All of them just knew the basics of reading and writing based on the teachings of Elder Shimar. She was not discrediting him but she knew that it was not enough. For her to be a proper diplomat, she would have to receive education somewhere else where she would be recognized.
The lord’s daughter stepped forward.
“Throughout the three centuries, Zeikontour never died because of its noble goal–to help women from all lands with the heart and dreams to change their fate. One could just be miserably born out of wedlock, living a life of shame by the merciless hands and judgemental eyes, only to be the queen of Apharothia one day. Such is the story of most queens, high ladies, and chief royalties, all thanks to Zeikontour. While Gairoshi fosters violence and greed infighting for the crown, Princess Zei, the founder of Zeikontour had other plans. No longer will blood be spilled and not only will one get a prize. Zeikontour is just a selection process where every woman has a chance for a better life. May we witness another fruitful Zeikontour this year.”
Everyone clapped at the remarkable speech of the lord’s daughter. She could tell that the words flowed naturally out of her mouth with power. If she was a Zeikontour participant, Liblei would do well to watch out for her. Unlike the other ladies in the hallway who had fluttering eyes and flirting tones, this one was a true empowered woman.
“Without any much gibberish, Father, please do the honor of explaining to us the rules,” she said. She bowed in front of the lord, then to the crowd, and exited the stage.
“Rule number one,” Lord Quill Adreic started. “Only women are allowed to participate in Zeikontour. The veteran participants know of these but for the sake of the new ones, we will emphasize on this one. Before the event, the attending minister, no other than the Grand Lady Eshrri of the Eastern Mountains will be in-charge of this one. By instruction, each participant is to strip for the Grand Lady to check. Security around the Red Room will be very much strict for your safety, more secure than the security around the king.”
Carysse didn’t know if the last sentence was meant as a joke. There were snickers from the noble ladies but they immediately died when they realized that Lord Adreic wasn’t smiling at all.
“Rule number two. Only the ones who wrote their names in the official scroll will be recognized, unless the participant is unable to continue, either caused by a serious illness or death.”
The room became so quiet that even the mere tap of a certain woman’s finger in the center table was heard.
“This rule is also found in Gairoshi, although Gairoshi was already a bloody event to begin with. Even as a commander, I am also skeptical about bringing back such a tradition. Anyway, the court’s advice is to double your security if you can. I have already ordered the knights to attend every Zeikontour participant although we cannot guarantee that we will send out our best men because we also have the Gairoshi participants. Please do consider your safety above all, especially that Zeikontour nor Apharothia will not be responsible if ever you are killed outside the competition.”
“Rule number three. If in any case that the participant is unable to continue, is ill to the point that she is rendered incapable of pushing through, or by any unfortunate reason, dies, her participation is terminated, unless someone from her household is willing to continue the journey for her. Although in the records, I believe this has not yet happened.”
It was just like what Chaos described in Gairoshi. He better still be alive, then. For some reason, Carysse was getting pumped up for the mission when she had been hesitant to Chaos’ proposal of the Gairoshi back at Thalisse then.
Lord Adreic went on in continuing to recite the rules. By then, Carysse was bored. Remarkably, the noble ladies seemed to be used to it, or they were just holding out their restlessness. When the lord reached rule number thirty, Carysse thought of going outside if that was possible. She needed fresh air after hours of sitting. She never endured such long hours of pure talking even with Elder Shimar’s lectures.
Carysse slowly stood from the bench and bent low while walking. Some servant girls gave her the eye but she didn’t care. Her butt was tired and sore from sitting. She went near the back door, the smaller ones beside the main entrance and gave the knob a twist. For some reason, it wouldn’t budge.
That was funny. She could recall it was where she saw the ones serving the food come and go without any trouble. She felt a tug at her clothes and a voice.
“Hey! Get back to your seat.”
She was ready to say sorry like a real slave who always had to ask for forgiveness in every thing that she does but when she turned around, the hairs on her body stood when the one that just grabbed her clothes was a man in full armour. Only his eyes could be seen from his visor.
Carysse recognized him as the guard earlier at the entrance who held the doors for them. What was he doing inside? There should be no problem with guards entering the hall but Carysse had a good nose. She could smell powder oozing from him like he was hiding a bomb underneath. Also, he seemed to have forgotten to wipe his sword cleanly. Carysse saw the stain of fresh blood in his sheath.
He didn’t know who the guard was but him stopping her to open the door as if to prevent anyone from noticing that it was locked, that was enough reason for her to doubt. She was not imagining things. The fear of Liblei’s servants are valid. Someone was evilly wise enough to target the venue where rich ladies are gathered.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Carysse said and jerked herself from the guard’s grip. She walked away, passing through the main entrance doors slowly, trying to discern if there were other sounds outside, like the feet of a hundred fighters ready to attack at any moment’s notice.
But she smelled the familiar scent of powder again–the kind that will blast if triggered by fire. And coincidentally, she heard the lighting of a wick just outside the door.
Carysse’s feet were fast. She ran and dove to Libeli’s direction, grabbing her by the shoulders pushing her to the ground, under the safety of the tables.
“What the–”
Libeli’s reaction was cut short when the door burst open with a deafening sound.